PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has urged Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi to take his proposal for creating new provinces to Parliament instead of discussing it at business forums.
Speaking to the media in London, where he is accompanying his father, President Asif Ali Zardari, Bilawal said Naqvi was entitled to express his views but stressed that any decision on new provinces should be debated in the National Assembly.
“Instead of speaking at business forums, Mohsin Naqvi should visit Parliament,” Bilawal remarked.
He said he was ready to debate the issue with any federal minister or government representative, adding that longstanding problems within the governance system should be discussed openly by elected representatives.
“The real issues resulting in the system’s collapse and their solutions should be discussed in Parliament,” he said.
Naqvi’s proposal for restructuring the country’s administrative system and creating new provinces has drawn strong reactions from political parties and legal bodies.
The PPP, which governs Sindh and is an ally of the PML-N-led federal government, has strongly opposed any move to divide the province. The party maintains that the creation of new provinces must follow the constitutional and parliamentary process and be based on political consensus.
The issue gained further momentum after the Sindh Assembly passed a resolution rejecting attempts to divide Sindh or create new administrative units. Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah also said there would be no compromise on the province’s geographical unity.
Despite the opposition, Naqvi has reiterated his call for new administrative units, arguing that Pakistan’s growing population and changing needs require a restructuring of the existing administrative system.
Speaking at a National Policy Dialogue in Lahore, he said his proposed “reset” was not about changing the government or political parties but about reforming the administrative structure to improve governance.
Naqvi also called for debate on granting provincial status to Islamabad, arguing that the federal capital did not receive a share under the National Finance Commission award.
The PPP has since intensified its opposition, urging Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to restrain federal ministers from making statements on the creation of new provinces.
